Chapter 22

Hispania, North of the Pyrenees

The Carthaginian encampment blanketed the hill’s base, tents and men sprawling as far as the eye could see. At the center of this makeshift city sat the abandoned Roman fort, looming overhead the Carthaginians from atop the small rise.

The men cheered him as he rode through the camp, which was still being assembled. Certainly, they were happy to not have the fight everyone had been expecting and seemed to attribute their painless taking of the fort to their general’s brilliance. Tabnit was much less pleased. He’d wanted this fight, and finding the fort empty had been more than just a disappointment. It was a sign that his strategy wasn’t working as he’d hoped.

Nabalasa and Hasdrubal, his two most senior officers, were both already at the fort’s entrance, waiting for him. They picked up on Tabnit’s expression where the soldiers had not, turning serious as they saw the expression on his face.

“Did we at least make contact?”

“No, general. They pulled back rapidly as well before our approach, their last men leaving the fort over an hour before any of our men got here.”

“Were they running? Throwing supplies behind them to lighten their load?” Tabnit asked, his voice so flat that it had become threatening in its lack of emotion.

“No, your excellency.”

“Then how did your men not catch them? An hour? That should not have been enough to stop you.”

“The scouts attempted to, but their thunder weapons cut down any who got close enough. My men would have to run for hours to get in contact while they walked. They’d be too exhausted to fight once we did catch up,” Hasdrubal said, defensively.

“Then have them run,” Tabnit said, his voice hard. “Instead, you set up camp around a useless, empty building. We weren’t trying to take their fort, we were trying to kill their soldiers before they could join up with any others. Instead, you let them escape and live to fight another day.”

Hasdrubal didn’t respond, knowing there was no good way to answer. Tabnit knew his anger was displaced somewhat. He’d seen the Romans’ weapons in action. They didn’t seem to take the effort that bows or swords did, which meant they were not going to lose effectiveness as they marched, while his men would indeed be too tired to fight well. None of that lessened his anger, however.

“It’s worse than that,” Nabalasa, whose command had been further behind and therefore not expected to keep the Romans in place. “All of their thunder weapons are gone, even the largest ones that must be very heavy, and all of their fire powder. What supplies were left behind are fairly mundane. None of their more advanced weapons or items are here.”

“How?” Hasdrubal pleaded. “How could they have gotten them all out? The Romans use entire teams of horses to move them. You expect me to believe they saw our forces approaching, pulled all of their cannons off the walls, loaded all their fire powder on wagons, and got out while our men were still an hour away from their fort?”

“I’m just reporting what we found to the General,” Nabalasa said with a slight smirk.

Tabnit, however, looked thoughtful.

“Unless they started loading everything before we saw them? The first fort we came across, allowing the Romans in this fort to flee. No doubt they gave warning, assuming we’d try to attack the next fort in line, and prepared for the retreat before we marched away from the previous fort. Which means they’re already arriving at the next fort and pulling their thunder weapons off the walls, preparing to remove them. At this rate, we will capture and kill no Romans. Capture none of their weapons as required by the emperor. Nothing.”

Tabnit looked around the fort again, his annoyance growing. After the victory destroying the Roman port, nothing else had gone their way. The Roman legion behind them had escaped. The Romans at the first fort had escaped. And now these.

“We need to quicken our pace. I want us hitting those forts before any more have a chance to escape. They’re hauling weapons, supplies, in addition to moving their men. Get your men moving now, on the double march. We’ve already tarried too long, but if that fort is empty, don’t stop. Continue through it to the next one. You can leave a detachment behind to guard the fort, but I don’t want you to slow down.”

Nabalasa frowned.

“But, sir, at that rate, we cannot scout ahead of us properly. The Romans could lay a trap or escape to the north, to join their armies there. We could lose them altogether. We’ll be blind.”

“That’s a danger I’m willing to accept. I don’t think they’ll go north. They’ll want to collect all of their garrisons first. Even if I’m wrong and they do turn north, they’ll be forced to abandon those garrisons, and we can destroy them, but only if we move fast enough. Even if we don’t, they’ll at least have to abandon their weapons, which we can collect. Maybe learn the secrets of them. There are so many. But only if we move fast enough.”

Waving his hand, as if swatting the suggestion away, Tabnit continued, “I’ve made my decision. The armies are to move as quickly as possible. Anything that slows them down; supplies, the sick or wounded, anything gets bypassed or left behind to catch up. The next fort is a day and a half’s foot march, I want it down in a day. If that fort is empty, I want us at the next one in twenty hours. Do you understand?”

Nabalasa opened his mouth, and Tabnit could see another objection forming. He understood their hesitation. What Tabnit was asking for was nearly impossible, moving this many men that quickly, and there were risks. But he was sure this was the right call. He still had the numbers, but the battle for the port had narrowed that lead, and the Romans still had their weapons. He needed to be aggressive if they were going to keep the Romans from consolidating their forces. The vacant fort before him was proof enough of that.

“That’s an order, Commander,” he said again, fixing the man’s gaze to make sure he understood.

“Yes, sir,” Nabalasa said reluctantly, saluting. “We’ll see to it at once.”

Tabnit watched his commanders hurry off, already barking orders at soldiers to break down camp. Tabnit surveyed the crumbling ramparts one last time. This was it. The last one. There’d be no more retreats. No more empty forts.

He was going to catch the rest of this army, destroy it, and then take care of the one up north. Then he could turn his sights to their pitiful little island.

Devnum

“ ... are concerning. So far, it’s limited to a handful of officers, and the questions have been strongly hedged, without him asking anything too pointed. But she’s definitely having an influence on him.”

“But is it beyond just him questioning and pushing for more responsibility, into him forwarding whatever her plans are? He’s ambitious and egotistical, but I didn’t get the impression he was this mercenary. His father made it clear he wanted Cormac to learn how to grow Ulaid as part of the empire, so why would Cormac try to tear it apart? Does Medb have that much influence over him?”

“He’s also very naive, and Medb is very smart,” Llassar said. “His questions so far have been more about opinions on strategy, asking what they need, building relationships, and similar topics. It suggests she hasn’t pushed him to supporting her plans more fully, although I doubt she’d ever tell him what she’s actually trying to do.”

“Which is what? I get she’s trying to destabilize my rule, but to what end? She can’t believe she’s going to rule the empire in my place?”

“No. If I had to guess, she wants her old throne back and thinks pulling the empire down from the inside will weaken Conchobar, maybe to the point of his kingdom falling apart.”

“Cormac would never support that, I don’t care how naive he is,” Lucilla said.

“Like I said, I doubt she’ll ever tell him what she’s actually trying to do. She’ll use him to wreak havoc until she doesn’t need him anymore.”

“So we bring him in, explain it.”

“He’s smitten, and he’s young. I’ve sounded him out a few times, and he won’t believe his bride would turn on him or use him. Not without irrefutable proof.”

“Putting her in chains would be proof,” Lucilla said.

“There’s a danger he’ll see it as proof of our plotting against him, trying to weaken the Ulaid or something along those lines. For him to be questioning soldiers the way he is, she’s got him well under her thumb. Arresting her now might cause him to rebel more openly. Conchobar needs us, but he still doesn’t trust us. It’s why he sent Cormac here in the first place. If his son comes to him with a story of your trying to weaken the Ulaid’s participation in the empire, he’s going to believe it, at least without irrefutable evidence, which we don’t have yet.”

“We’ve witnessed her pushing Vesnius into rebellious actions,” Lucilla said, annoyed. “Shouldn’t that be enough?”

“I’ve talked to the legionnaire Claudius about what he saw after the episode with Medb. It’s not as direct as that. She was questioning your rule, but she didn’t tell the priest to do any specific action. The priest’s prejudices wouldn’t allow it, which is why she was more circumstantial, but it makes everything weaker. Cormac will hear what she said, and it won’t be enough,” he said and then paused, choosing his next words carefully. “You’ve only been empress for a short while, and the empire is less than a year old. It’s still fragile. We’re still generations away from people thinking of themselves as Britannians instead of Romans or Caledonians or Ulaid. You still have to be careful.”

Lucilla looked out the small window, recently fitted with the new glass being made by one of the smaller factories, letting light into the room. It wasn’t perfect. Not like the glass Ky had described. It wasn’t fully translucent like the glass her people had been making, but there were still wavy lines in it, causing the light to spread out, almost move on its own. She hesitated because he was right. It was hard to face how easily her father’s empire, her empire, could fall apart. That, in spite of everything she and Ky had done, they were still one rabble-rouser away from losing it all.

Sighing, she looked back at the Caledonian and said, “Alright, we proceed carefully until we have enough evidence. I want Cormac under close surveillance, though. Medb can cause trouble, but the Ulaid in the city look up to Cormac as their leader. If he starts taking active measures against us, things can escalate quickly. If it seems like he’s going to do something drastic, or if he starts causing active problems, we step in.”

“I’ll speak to Ramirus and Faenius. Medb’s not being as subtle as she thinks she is. We’ll find something,” he said, standing up, making a soft groan as he did.